Beer has lagged well behind wine and organic produce in the ongoing reinvention of American cuisine. Yet the change over the past twenty years has been startling. In 1965, the United States had a single craft brewery: Anchor Brewing, in San Francisco. Today, there are nearly fifteen hundred. In liquor stores and upscale supermarkets, pumpkin ales and chocolate stouts compete for cooler space with wit beers, weiss beers, and imperial Pilsners. The King of Beers, once served in splendid isolation at many bars, is now surrounded by motley bottles with ridiculous names, like jesters at a Renaissance fair: SkullSplitter, Old Leghumper, Slam Dunkel, Troll Porter, Moose Drool, Power Tool, He’brew, and Ale Mary Full of Taste.

Let me first say that I do not consider myself partial to stouts, or dark beers for that matter. I enjoy a Guiness from time to time, and I’ll try stouts. But normally they fall flat for me. This, however, is not only the best stout I’ve ever had, it’s one of the best beers I’ve ever had, period. In addition to the typical heavy stout taste, it also has a sweetness and richness that almost reminds me of coffee or something along those lines. I should add, it also packs a pretty good punch at 9% alcohol per volume.

My recommendation: Some night this week, treat yourself by eating a light dinner and then feasting on a couple of Old Rasputins. It’ll be the most delicious meal of the week.

First, the good: this is a massively hoppy beer that impressively includes enough of a malt counterpunch to be smooth from start to finish. Poured into a pint glass (Dogfish Head says a snifter is preferable, but I’m currently snifter-less), this brew offers a think, fluffy head, and the alcohol (9.0% ABV) is very noticeable in the aroma. The hops stick with you throughout the 90 Minute IPA experience, but the primary flavor in this brew is in the neighborhood of plums verging on prunes.

I’ve never had a double IPA with the kind of malt background that the 90 Minute IPA provides. All the malt provides a texture and mouthfeel that I can only describe as chewy. There’s so much to this beer that you could almost chew it! I’m not sure if that sounds appealing, but that’s the way it is. Anyway, any hop enthusiast will certainly get his fix by enjoying one of these, and as the lacing follows you sip-by-sip through your experience, it reminds you that you want another as soon as you’ve finished the first. Be careful, though, this is a deceptively alcoholic beer. At 9.0% ABV, you might think the alcohol would be front and center, but you don’t notice the alcohol as much as you’d think.

Now for some criticism: I go back and forth on this point, but the flavor profile can verge on being overly sweet. Plum is interesting; prune and raisin are borderline medicinal (a complaint I have about Dogfish Head’s Raison D’Etre). In my opinion, no double IPA should be close to being too sweet. I’d like to see Dogfish lift the pedal on the malt a little bit to let the hops take greater control, but your mileage may vary. Overall, I give Dogfish Head’s 90 Minute IPA a Mamacoke record of 94 points out of 100.

From a flavor standpoint the hop flavor was dominant from the start, but there was just enough of a malty background to call this brew well-balanced. In the background I tasted a faint caramel/burnt sugar bittersweetness which rounded out the flavor nicely. Like almost any IPA the finish was dry; this beer featured a long-lasting soapy aftertaste, which was the only drawback to its flavor.

This was a fun beer to drink. At almost 6% ABV, there’s enough alcohol in here to notice. You get great lacing with every sip, and the taste and aroma had me wanting a second one as soon as I polished off the first. If they could tighten up the aftertaste a little bit this IPA might range into the upper 80s, but for now, I give Lagunitas IPA 83/100.

Here is a guy who really knows his beer.

In-Heat Wheat featured an intense floral and fruity aroma that was more appealing than the typical yeasty, bready smell associated with wheat beer. The flavor, like virtually all wheat beers, was citrusy and herbal, but in a unique way. Rather than the usual semi-sweet lemon/orange flavor, In-Heat Wheat tasted strongly of bittersweet grapefruit. The herbal component was the ubiquitous coriander, featured more heavily than in most wheat beers. This also helped to keep In-Heat Wheat from being just another sweet American wheat beer.

Hops featured much more prominently than than the average wheat beer; Flying Dog describes the beer as more malty than hoppy, so once I again I find myself at odds with the brewers’ appraisal of their handiwork. Regardless, combined with the bittersweet primary flavors, the hoppiness ensured a satisfyingly dry finish. Full-bodied for a wheat beer, In-Heat Wheat poured with negligible head and no lacing. I’m not sure what it is about wheat beers that causes this to often happen, but it’s always disappointing. Even so, for its well-balanced flavor, solid body and ability to stand out in a highly crowded style of beer, I give In-Heat Wheat 81 points out of 100.

Photo courtesy of FlyingDogAles.com

Like many Belgian-style witbiers (white beers), White Rascal is unfiltered, giving it a cloudy appearance. Without being too sweet, it featured the typical overtones of citrus; the background was a perky, herbal mixture of coriander, parsley, and perhaps mint. The body was thinner than Franziskaner, but had a bit more heft to it than Flying Dog Tire Bite, making it light enough to be refreshing, but not so watery as to evoke a lite American macro-brew.

With a head that dissolved quickly and no lacing around the glass, White Rascal’s appearance didn’t exactly hold my attention the way that darker beers tend to, but that’s a trait most wheat beers share. Overall, this brew showed a lot of positive qualities, but also failed to distinguish itself. I give Avery Brewing Company’s White Rascal 74 out of 100 points.

Photo courtesy of AveryBrewing.com

Tire Bite poured bright and golden into my pint glass, and quickly dissipated without head or lacing around the glass. Before taking a first sip, I noticed a grainy and faintly tart aroma. The first flavor I tasted was tart apple, but this was quickly replaced with intense cereal that while pleasant enough, was quite bland. Flying Dog describes this brew as being pretty hoppy, but Tire Bite’s cereal flavors were so prominent that I didn’t notice any hoppiness at all.

The downfall of Tire Bite is its lack of body. Overall, this beer isn’t objectionable; I could see myself drinking a few of these at a party if they happened to be in the cooler. However, Tire Bite was pretty watery, and for a summer-type beer, that’s saying something. I give Tire Bite 64 points out of 100.

Photo: GroovyBrew.com

Like many wheat beers, this golden brew was a bit hazy and poured into my pint glass with very little head (perhaps one finger’s worth). It featured the typical yeasty, bready aromas that many wheat beers share. The strongest flavor was of orange, while licorice was surprising as a subtle but noticeable secondary flavor. Herbal notes played in the background but didn’t contribute enough to distract me from the overarching sweet flavor of this brew. With little to no hop presence, Leinenkugel’s Sunset Wheat is sure to be a crowd-pleaser.

With a bit more body, this brew would do more to satisfy those of us who prefer a beer with a bit of heft to it. Still, it was a tasty, thirst-quenching brew, and that’s hard to knock. I give Leinenkugel’s Sunset Wheat a solid 72 points out of 100.

Photo: BeerAdvocate.com

The first beer I sampled was the Brutal Bitter that, as someone who hates really bitter beer, I thought I wouldn’t enjoy. Man was I wrong. This is a phenomenal brew. It poured from the bottle into my stein with a rich copper color and a nice head. It has a nice citrus smell, actually its one of the best smelling beers I’ve had in a long time which makes a huge difference in quality. The full bodied taste was made up of hops, citrus and, I had to look this up because I was unsure exactly what it was, almost an apple/grapefruit flavor.

You can’t go wrong with this beer. I highly recommend it and am looking forward to sampling other brews from Rogue.